60cents SoyaMilk| Space Exploration in Your Backyard
Space Exploration in Your Backyard
60 Cents Space Hub
Summary
As space enthusiasts, we noticed that the interest surrounding the space sector are sparsely spread across the internet. In the SEA, the enthusiasts scene online has a high barrier of entry because the online platforms cater mostly to veterans who already know what they want. Conversely, information about the space sector is central around the scientific knowledge.60 Cents aims to be the hubs to connect the social, local community and knowledge aspects of the online community. Apart from connecting social platforms, 60 Cents houses bits of space knowledge around the user that they can nonchalantly stumble upon. With geodata and minigames, we provide the user with a range of user experience.
How We Addressed This Challenge
*for more information, refer to our PowerPoint slides
What do we hope to contribute to the space sector
- To house a united community of enthusiasts and the general populace.
- To lower the barrier of entry for new enthusiasts.
- To nurture the upcoming generation of pioneers in an environment conducive to curiosity and scientific thinking.
- To present the general public with a source of light-hearted bits of space knowledge.
How 60 Cents aims to achieve our goals
- 60 Cents' infrastructure consolidates the online presence of the space sector through multiple social platforms.
- Our hub presents the user with local trivia and space-related points of interest around them using their location information.
- 60 Cents Space Hub kickstarts a database of local space knowledge sustained by the input of industry collaborators and the general user base.
- 60 Cents Space Hub eventually aims to become a platform where industry collaborators can engage enthusiasts with opportunities to get involved in the space sector.
- 60 Cents Space Hub uses a minigame which quizzes the user about obscure but interesting facts from the NASA database through a lighthearted minigame.
How We Developed This Project
Our Team observed that local space enthusiasts often find difficulties in reaching the general public. Moreover, not many contributions of local space sector are widely promoted, causing our local community to find space exploration works unappreciative. Hence, our team decided to take up this challenge with a strong desire to improve this phenomenon. Our first approach to tackle this challenge is to adapt local data to develop a user-friendly web-app that can connect users to space community around them in a convenient and fun manner.
Our team uses JavaScript as the main programming language and Visual Studio Code as the code editor to start off with the web design. To ease and hasten programming works on all our members’ laptop, we used Git as the version control system in tracking source codes.
The small size of our local space sector is our main problem as we could not obtain huge datasets at once to test and to support our web development. We put in vast amount of time and effort just to search and collect enough data as most of it are not inapplicable or outdated. However, excellent working atmosphere has allowed us to generate and improvise ideas without much conflict. The optimistic attitude of our team members also raises team spirit that allowed us to overcome every difficulty throughout the project. We have successfully created a prototype that fulfils challenge objectives and bring space closer to us.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
The data sets used were from the NASA SBIR/STTR Database. The information on the small businesses and their awards was used to develop a trivia mini-game for our app. Outside of those who work within or pay close attention to the space industry know very little of the business surrounding it. The public also looks at the scale and spectacle of space exploration, and perceives it as something beyond them. This creates a sense of mystery and unfamiliarity within them, and the average person wouldn't often willingly embrace the unknown. The mini-game format would allow for a fresher interactive and engaging learning experience. Announcing business news to the people can only go so far since spreading information is sort of a two-way street. Voluntary interaction by the user bridges their mind with this knowledge and makes learning all the easier. The spotlight shone on small business would also spread the idea to the people that space exploration, like everything else that exists within our finite world, is built from something smaller and accessible even for us tiny human beings.
Project Demo
https://www.canva.com/design/DAEJhde7hHs/I47NEeIvijGywOnBHnLo9g/view?utm_content=DAEJhde7hHs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton
Project Code
Data & Resources
Mapbox
NASA SBIR/STTR Database
https://pixabay.com/videos/nebula-gas-galaxy-space-25047/ Free video used as homepage background.
Planets Visible in the Night Sky in Penang, Malaysia : https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/malaysia/penang
Public Star Observation in Penang: https://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/events-malaysia
Astronomy Weekend at Tech Dome Penang: http://pgevents.my/astronomy-weekend
Penang Astronomy Convention 2009: https://mydarksky.org/2009/07/02/penang-astronomy-convention-2009/
Astronomical Society of Penang: https://www.facebook.com/AstronomicalSocietyOfPenang/
Astronomy Club of Chung Ling High School: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/School/CLHS-Astronomy-Club-174010432668562/
Sheikh Tahir Astronomical Center:
http://mufti.penang.gov.my/index.php/en/2014-11-12-02-31-47/latar-belakang
Astronomy Club of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM): https://astronomerswithoutborders.org/my-awb/our-current-affiliates/network.html?id=7
Heng EE Astronomy Club: https://www.facebook.com/ACoHEHS/
Penang International Science Fair: https://www.pscpen.com/events/pisf2019/
Landsat data to evaluate urban expansion and determine land use and land cover changes in Penang Island Malaysia: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225712204_Landsat_data_to_evaluate_urban_expansion_and_determine_land_useland_cover_changes_in_Penang_Island_Malaysia
Article on donation from CSTM to Tech Dome Penang: https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2018/05/29/window-into-chinas-space-race-rockets-and-spacecraft-models-on-display-at-tech-dome-penang-in-july/
Urban Expansion Analysis using Landsat Images in Penang, Malaysia: http://www.ukm.my/jsm/pdf_files/SM-PDF-48-11-2019/02%20Yi%20Lin%20Tew.pdf
SAM Engineering and Equipment (M) Berhad: https://www.sam-malaysia.com/
Perseid Telescopes & Binoculars: http://www.perseid.com.my/
PIXO Observatory @ Tech Dome Penang: http://www.techdomepenang.org/exhibition?panel=open4
Penang Science Cluster: https://www.pscpen.com/